Israel kamikaze drones destroy Syrian air defenses

On January 21, Iranian, Syrian and Israeli forces unleashed a hail of missiles upon each other in what is becoming yet another flare-up of violence along the Syria-Israel border, The Independant reports. Afterwards, the Israeli Defense Force released a video depicting unidentified munitions eliminating two or three short-range air defense systems—apparently including Russia’s latest short-range system, the Pantsir-S2.

IAI produces many types of loitering munition (kamikaze uav) such as the Rotem 1200

The recent raids may reveal improvements to Syria’s air defense forces thanks to ongoing Russian training and weapons transfers. On the other hand, they also reveal Israel’s continuing ability to win, including through likely use of kamikaze-drones. The succession of tit-for-tat attacks apparently began with the launch of a Fateh 110 short-range ballistic missile by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, targeting an Israeli ski-resort on Mount Hebron in the Golan Heights. As the solid-fuel rocket blazed towards to the snowy mountain, it was intercepted and destroyed by two missiles from the Israel Iron Dome air defense system.